The proposed public consultation event scheduled for November 19th had to be postponed due to delays in the production of the Housing Needs Assessment and housing need numbers. It is unlikely that this information will be available before the end of the year. It is intended that this event will now take place early in the early new year.

REPORTS:

The Village Character Assessment is essentially complete, however, some additional historical information on some of the listed houses along the street, the School House, and Holbrooke Hall area is required. IP suggested that the Holbrooke Hall area could be designated as a Special Character Area. JJ will contact the current owners for additional historical information and CW will provide historical extracts from the Village History Book.

The Site Assessment Report is also complete, although its conclusions need to be considered against the policy context in which it was produced, which may change over time.

HOUSING REQUIREMENTS & HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

The unresolved issue of Hinterland Village or Hamlet status for the Village was discussed, along with its impact on progressing the Neighbourhood Plan.

IP presented a calculation on the likely Housing Requirement numbers for both Hinterland Village and Hamlet status. It was shown that these would be broadly similar if based on the percentage share of housing the Village would take if it were designated as a Hamlet.

Babergh D.C. may be willing to discuss and agree on a Housing requirement figure for the purposes of the Neighbourhood Plan. It was decided that IP should contact BDC in that regard in the first instance. TS is happy to attend any meeting with Babergh, along with IP, moving forward.

The impact of potential Planning Applications on the Housing requirement figure was discussed.

IP confirmed that the Housing requirement figure would apply from 1st April 2018, so any housing development approved after that date would contribute to the total requirement.

There was discussion on ways the Housing Requirement could be met, whether by windfall sites, site allocation, or a combination of both. IP will look at previous development rates and produce a forward projection.

In terms of progressing the evidence base for the NP, the following steps will be undertaken:

A Housing Needs Assessment would be carried out by AECOM.

IP would draft a brief to AECOM for it to review the two potential site allocations with regard to the impact of a small development (